THE Parole Board is reviewing whether Jon Venables should be released from prison.

But the likelihood of him being freed in the months ahead is “minimal.”

Whitehall sources said that it was a “formality” to ensure that his case is not prejudiced, or his anonymity jeopardised.

Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, was recalled to custody last month for allegedly breaching the terms of his licence.

Earlier this week Justice Secretary Jack Straw told the ECHO that the question of any further prosecution for unspecified “serious allegation” were out of his hands.

That was a matter for the ongoing police investigation and the Crown Prosecution and he could not estimate the time it will take to reach a decision.

As a result of uncertainty over the timescale - and it could take several months - the Parole Board is obliged to start considering Venables’s appeal for bail in the meantime.

And the parole process can not be completed until the end of any possible further criminal proceedings.

A Parole Board spokesman said: “The Ministry of Justice has today referred the case of Jon Venables for us to review his continued detention as required by the Directions to the Parole Board under Section 32(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

“The Parole Board will now start the process of reviewing this case in the normal way.

“We are not able to set a timescale on the review but we will confirm when it has been concluded.”

Venables’s file will be examined by a judge, a member of the public and either a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

They will consider his behaviour since he and fellow-killer Robert Thompson were released in 2001.